Cheers and Jeers

Jeers ... to people who ignore Forest Service warnings and carelessly start brush and forest fires.

Cheers ... to Ed Harris of Forest City for receiving the premier 5BDXCC award from the National Association for Amateur Radio. To earn the award, a Ham radio operator must have confirmed on-the-air contacts with 100 countries.

Cheers ... to J. Patrick Moss, forensics and drama director in the Rutherford County Schools, for achieving the distinction of becoming a published playwright.

Cheers ... to the Rutherford Heritage Singers for the splendid Christmas concert performance featuring Celtic music and dance.

Cheers ... to John and Frankie McWhorter for their leadership in the year long celebration of Rutherfordton's 225 anniversary.

With that ...

Cheers ... for the many, many volunteers and Rutherfordton town employees who made each month's event a special treat.

Cheers ... to all of the Rutherford County high school football players that received All-Conference honors. In the South Mountain Athletic Conference, 15 players from Chase, East Rutherford and R-S Central were selected for All-Conference honors.

Jeers ... to the number of children living below the poverty line in Rutherford County increasing. A recent report by Action for Children North Carolina indicated that 8.5 percent of children in the county live at or below the poverty line, which is 1.3 percent above the state average. Something needs to be done and we, as a community, need to come together to solve the problem.

Cheers ... to a solution being found regarding the closure of Island Ford Road. We are happy to see that Cherokee County (SC) and Horsehead officials were able to find a resolution to a potentially dangerous traffic situation.

Cheers ... to more holiday-themed events this weekend. The weekend will kick off with a Christmas parade at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Spindale and include a parade at 5 p.m. in Rutherfordton as well as events in Bostic that kick off at 3 p.m. and the annual Ellenboro parade at 3 p.m. Sunday.

To offer your own cheer or jeer for consideration, email Editor Matthew Clark at mclark@thedigitalcourier.com. Please put "Cheers and Jeers" in the subject line.